IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


v 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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n 


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Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


3 


24X 


26X 


30X 


28X 


32X 


-.-S^  a.^-  ^i,-ii**,> 


Ips^Ef.'-.-wvau 


—"-"  'fiiamtiTrfi" 


lire 

details 
jes  du 
modifier 
jer  une 
filmage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

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Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
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6es 


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derniAre  page  qui  comports  une  empreinte 
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d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


re 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
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method: 


Un  das  symbolas  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
darniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

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filmte  A  das  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seui  cliche,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagas  nAcessaira.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


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POEMS  OF  GUN   AND   ROD 


1 

'•it 


I    «    POEMS    OF 

GUN    AND    ROD 

BY    liHNliST  ""McGAFl'liV        y       > 


ILLUSTRATKI)    I5V    HF.KBERT   E.   BUTLER 


CHAHLES   SCRIBNEUS   SONS 

m:\v  yokk,  1892    i    ^    i 


^/6/y  X 


I 


r 


TS 


Copyright.  1892,  by 
Charles  Scrihncr's  Sons 


^If   Jill'"    '^'^       '  ^'  '"^  tr.^ftiiftM 


BWmf  r  "Vi-Mr[mili>;it*y^^*an"WwWI 


I,pl>  ■«ri»..rfi'iiiii't'i'<^ 


C.RKKTINC, 


Di'.AK  comrades  of  my  hapi))'  outdoor  days, 
'I'licsc  halting  rhymes,  that  from  my  heart  I  send, 
With  michiight  stars  and  Hakes  of  dawning  blend 
With  morning's  gray  and  sunset's  steady  blaze  ; 
And  up  tiuough  marshy  flats  and  wooded  ways 
Where  tall  oaks  rise,  and  rustling  rushes  bend, 
I'itsses  the  form  of  many  an  old-time  friend 
Who  trod  with  me  the  field  and  forest  maze 
From  dawn  to  dusk  ;  I  count  them  as  they  pass, 
And  leajw  my  blood  again  as  one  by  one 
The  old  days  rise,  while  Nature's  Circe-strain, 
That  lures  men  on  'mid  sun  and  wind  and  rain, 
Comes  back  to  me  o'er  harps  of  tangled  grass 
And  sets  me  dreaming  of  the  rod  and  gun. 


ife*i!afeawsa^jav;;&''j»iwgw!itH>8«i'' 


.   iwiiintmiiiiiKu 


I 


CONTENTS 


rAGK 

Greetino 

V 

The  Gun ♦     . 

•      3 

As  THE  Dav  Hreaks,  .... 

•      S 

"  Mark,"       .       .        .       ... 

•     •; 

Spring . 

.    It 

Morning  in  the  Hills,     .       . 

.       12 

"  Over  THE  Decoys,"  . 

.       14 

Twilight, 

16 

A  Swallow . 

.       18 

Jack-snipe,     ...... 

.      21 

Summer, 

•      23 

Daybreak  on  the  Marsh,        t   .  , 

,       .       .    H 

The  Call  of  the  Upland  Plover, 

,          .          .      26 

Flushed , 

,         »    ,     .39 

The  Yellow-Hammer, 

.        .        .    3' 

Old  Grip 

•    35 

The  Wind  in  the  Trees,  . 

•     37 

Gone  Away, 

.    41 

in»inirri"L»-in'i:n»i'^" 


;-ti 


vm 


COXT/iXTS 


At  the  Threshold, 

OUAIL,    .... 

In  the  Tamarack.!,    . 

My  Ancient  Huntinc.-co 

The  Bi.ue-Jay,    . 

A  "Point,"  . 

In  Autumn  Woods,   . 

A  Prairie  Rover,     . 

Sumach, 

"Hard  Hit," 

Autumn, 

Red  and  Brown, 

The  Twelve-tined  Buck 

Pan,      .... 

./*;oLiAN  Echoes, 

Sunrise, 

A  "Double,"      . 

Sunset, 

The  Gray  Goose  Quill, 

Cobwebs, 

The  Last  Buffalo,  . 

Winter, 

Hunters, 

The  Rod,    . 


t, 


I'AGB 

43 
47 
49 
53 
55 
59 
6i 

65 
67 

7« 
72 
7i 

77 
81 

83 
86 
89 

9« 

92 

93 
97 

lOI 

102 
los 


WW»if|Jl»i»»»»li*i«WMrtiB«i<iii»jM'«^ 


I'AGB 

43 
47 
49 
53 
55 
59 
6i 

65 
67 

7> 
72 
73 
77 
81 

83 
86 
89 

9« 
92 

93 
97 

lOI 

102 
105 


C0.V77i.V7'S  Ix 

PACB 

A  "Rise," 106 

Out-doors, 107 

Spearing in 

Marsh  Echoes, 113 

Fishing, 117 

The  Brook  Trout 119 

"Broke  Away," 123 

Diana, ....  125 

Minnows 127 

The  Deserted  Boat, 128 

The  Redwing, 131 

A  "Strike," 135 

The  Death  ok  the  Muskalunge 136 

Vale, 139 


.1 


riTr*r 


»rii«njijigiiiriLiiii;iry»|Miui<il'l>'".  l'J'0".i'^'^*-("L>)ilill|«<l>«Wiro 


-is;^ 


iniiftliWii 


-ayJ'?^;--:,i;:---j...'i,yifl:i«^>^^p«^— ,.^^^,...^,^^--^^j^ 


IW*>|ir>l»Mi  JiuiirnriiiMrinWiii^irtiB* 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Gun, 

- 

"Mark," 

8 

Morning  in  the  Hills, 

12 

Over  the  Decoys, 

H 

Jack-snipe, • 

20 

Daybreak  on  the  Marsh, 

24 

Flushed, 

28 

Old  Grip, 

34 

Gone  Away, • 

40 

Quail •         • 

46 

My  Ancient  Hunting-coat 

52 

A  "  Point," 

58 

A  Prairie  Rover 

.    64 

"  Hard  Hit," 

•    70 

The  Twelve-tincd  Buck, 

.    76 

"A  Deer-hound  Whined," 

.    80 

fmrnHmttmHMaium^*  •'  '"■■" 


xit 


/,/.S7'  OF  ILIASTKATIONS 


yEolian  Echoes,      .... 

Through  the  Trees  a  Partridge  Flies, 

A  "  Double," 

The  (iray  Goose  Quill, 

The  Last  IJuffalo,  . 

The  Rod,      . 

Spearing, 

Fishing, 

"Broke  Away,"     . 

The  Redwing, 

A  "  Strike,"   . 

Pine-sheltered  Shores,  . 

The  Death,     . 

Vale,      .        .        •        » 


83 
85 
88 

92 
96 
104 
no 
116 
122 
130 

J  34 
136 

138 
140 


:st^^,,\«i!i   iiiiiiiiginiliimwiiw-'    '' 


-i.vn8JMtt«aro8la 


83 
85 
88 

92 

96 

I04 

no 

ii6 

122 
130 

•34 
136 

•38 
140 


eQun 


•WrfH^W'.Sr 


THE   GUN 

With  iierfect  lines  trom  butt  to  sight, 

DaiiiascMs  harrcls,  twelve  in  gauge 
That  shine  within  like  mirrors  bright, 

A  triumi)h  of  this  latter  age  ; 
Gnarled  walnut  ^voocl  the  solid  stock, 

And  smoother  than  your  finger-nail 
Extension  rib,  rebounding  lock, 

And  balanced  like  a  truthful  scale. 

No  fine  engraving  tracery  shown 

On  locks  or  barrels  for  the  vain, 
A  weapon  for  its  worth  alone, 

A  beauty,  yet  severely  plain  ; 
Top-snap  the  action,  as  you  see. 

And  corrugated  buck-horn  tip, 
As  finished  as  an  arm  should  be 

From  muzzle  through  to  pistol-gnp. 


A  trusty  comrade,  this  old  gun, 
And  certain,  if  you  hold  it  right, 


Tirr.  Gi'x 

To  drop  the  jack-snipe  one  by  one 
Or  stop  a  partridge  in  his  flight — 

'I'o  bring  to  earth  the  woodcoclc  where 
In  lowland  covert  out  he  springs, 

Or  send  far  up  in  crispy  air 

The  death-hail,  where  the  wild-goose  wings. 

Let  Folly's  votaries  fill  her  train, 
And  chirping  poets  feebly  rhyme ; 

In  dingy  holes  for  worldly  gain 

Let  stooping  dullards  spend  their  prime  ; 

Let  hermits  prose  in  doleful  moods. 

And  book-worms  in  dry  volumes  delve, 
Give  me  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  woods, 

My  freedom  and  the  "  Number  Twelve." 


"'»H,i.l»HM.Ul»WUWm»tMt!lftM;!»i!.«a 


AS    Tin:    I>AV    r.RKAKS 

I  I'K.w  you,  wliat's'aslcL'i)? 

The  lily-pads,  ami  riftk-s.  ami  the  reeds  ; 
N'o  longer  inward  do  the  waters  creep 

No  longer  outwardly  their  force  recetles, 
And  widowed  night,  in  blackness  wide  and  deep, 

Resumes  her  weeds. 

I  pray  you,  what's  awake? 

A  host  of  stars,  the  long,  long  milky  way 
That  stretches  out,  a  glistening  silver  flake. 

All  glorious  beneath  the  moon's  cold  ray, 
.\nd  myriad  reflections  on  the  lake 

Where  star-gleams  lay. 


I  pray  you,  what's  astir? 

Why,  naught  but  rustling  leaves,  dry,  sere,  and  brown 
The  East's  broad  gates  are  yet  a  dusky  blur 

And  star-gems  twinkle  in  fair  Luna's  crown. 
And  minor  chords  of  wailing  winds  that  were 

Die  slowly  down. 


iififmtlimtt' 


AS  Tllli   OA  Y  JiKKAKS 

I  pray  you,  what's  o'clock? 

Nay  :  wlio  shall  answer  that  Init  gray-stolcl  <lawn 
Scv,  how  from  out  the  sliadows  looms  yon  rode 

Like  some  great  figure  on  a  canvas  drawn  ; 
A  ml  heard  you  not  the  crowing  uf  the  cock? 

The  night  is  gone. 


V      i 


ij]]ijjtiiil||iijl>iifa| 


(lawn  ? 


■  * 


■■!i 


,,5,:,iVioii-.:.i.U.S?ii^i'-4i^»St^i»iJ<i*'*^-'**;^^ 


^>:M>s 


yi 


;.-.^^7JiS^v.iisiAw4.'i-ife5a' 


"MARK 


.•^ 


The  heavy  mists  have  crept  away, 

Heavily  swims  the  sun, 
And  dim  in  mystic  cloiidlands  gray, 

The  stars  fade  one  by  one  ; 
Out  of  the  dusk  enveloping 

Come  marsh  and  sky  and  tree, 
Where  erst  has  rested  night's  dark  ring 

Over  the  Kankakee. 


"  Mark  right  !  "     Afar  and  faint  outlined 
A  flock  of  mallards  fly, 
We  crouch  within  the  reedy  blind 
Instantly  at  the  cry. 
"  Mark  left !  "     We  peer  through  wild  rice-blades 
And  distant  shadows  see, 
A  wedge-shaped  phalanx  from  the  shades 
Of  far-off  Kankakee. 


«<  Mark  overhead  !  "     A  canvasback  ! 
« '  Mark !     Mark  !  "     A  bunch  of  teal  1 


I^^i 


lO 


"  MARK" 


And  swiftly  on  each  flying  track 
Follows  the  shot-gun's  peal ; 

Thus  rings  that  call,  till  twilight's  tide 
Rolls  in  like  some  gray  sea, 

And  whippoorwills  complain  beside     * 
The  lonely  Kankakee. 


1 


SIRRING 


Somewhat  of  broken  clouds  edge-tipped  with  blue, 
Scattered  and  listless  in  the  ashen  sky, 
A  sound  of  happy  waters  flowing  by, 

And  little  blades  of  grass  shy  iieeping  through 

The  old  earth's  crevices ;  and  starting  new 
Are  swelling  buds  u^)on  the  many  boughs  ; 
Long  wakes  of  black  l)ehind  advancing  ploughs, 

And  plough-shares  misty  with  the  morning  dew. 


Soon,  soon,  indeed,  the  couriers  will  bring 
Swift  tidings  of  the  joyous  days  to  come, 
When  Nature's  heart,  but  yet  so  lately  numb, 

Shall  beat  again,  and  birds  will  once  more  sing  ; 

No  more  shall  wintry  arrows  pierce  and  sting 
For  far  from  where  the  chiding  north-wind  frets, 
Here  in  a  nook  are  dainty  violets. 

The  meek  and  blue-eyed  harbingers  of  spring. 


Mof\hfii^/G  11^^^^411115 


Faint  streaks  of  light  in  the  far-down  east 

Outlined  by  an  unseen  pencil, 
The  artist  hand  of  the  dawn's  high  priest 

Who  spreads  o'er  a  shadowed  stencil 
The  silver  hues  of  the  morning's  wings, 

The  dusk  and  the  darkness  flaking, 
While  the  did  earth  sighs,  and  the  pine-top  sings, 

"Awake!  for  the  day  is  breaking."  ' 

The  gray  squir'l  barks,  for  the  woods  are  still, 
And  the  silence  makes  him  braver. 

And  he  sees  the  sun  behind  the  hill 
Where  the  shadows  twist  and  waver  ; 


.  M.-irtilri  iiiU«rtM»>Tr''iw 


ngs, 


MOA'X/XG  /x  ■/•///■:  mils 

The  gray  s(|uir'l  watches  the  dead  leavxs  whirl, 
That  the  sun  no  mure  shall  nourish, 

High  on  a  branch  with  his  tail  a-curl 
Like  a  writing-master's  tlourish. 

The  i)artridge  drums  on  an  kM  dry  log 

A  haunt  of  worm  and  cricket, 
Down  near  the  edge  of  a  cranberry  bog, 

Close  by  a  white  birch  thicket  ; 
And  at  times  the  reverberation  floats 

Through  the  air  so  round  and  mellow. 
That  it  sounds  as  sweet  as  the  basso  notes 

Of  a  maestro's  violoncello. 


aniW^-'-i-w^i'^Si'^iirf  I'-fe'f 


13 


The  gray  squir'l  barks,  and  the  jjartridge  drums, 

And  the  sunlight  follows  faster. 
And  over  the  pines  the  wind-god  comes 

With  the  touch  of  an  untaught  master. 
And  he  strikes  the  chords  from  a  maze  of  limbs 

That  glitter  with  frost-lace  hoary. 
While  eastward  now  as  the  darkness  dims 
Is  the  sun  in  a  sea  of  glory. 


1^ 


\     •*#■ 


0\?er  itie  Decoys 


Lone  lies  the  tawny  marsh,  and  lily  pads, 
All  crisped  and  wrinkled  by  the  autumn  sun, 
Swim  lazily  along  the  sighing  reeds ; 
The  strident  reeds,  that  bar  the  passage-way. 
Where  wanders  past  the  lost  and  wailing  breeze 
Over  the  gray,  wan  deserts  of  the  dawn, 
Striking  the  frets  of  intertwining  stems 
That  rustle  into  weirdest  music  there. 

And  ruddily  against  the  rising  sim 
The  ever -restless  waters  ripple  uj), 
Prying  amid  the  rushes,  and  again, 
Upon  the  roots  of  dwarfish  willow  stubs, 
Lapping  and  lapping  like  a  thirsty  hound  ; 


<te 


iii1t^-i''''i'^- 'iT"-*'^'^"^''  *'<'''  "^  ■ 


-  mjms&^Bm-.^ 


l~ 


ize 


"  Ol'EK   THE  DECOYS" 


»5 


And  in  an  open  space  l)eyond  the  reeds, 
Riding  like  corks  the  little  ruffled  waves, 
Decoys  are  seen,  those  fateful  wooden  lures 
That  draw  the  passing  ducks  from  cloudy  heights 
Down,  down,  and  down,  until  the  sportsman's  aim 
Sends  consternation  to  their  scattered  ranks. 

And  at  the  edges  of  the  cat-tails  tall, 

Among  the  rushes  and  the  spatter-dock, 

A  hunter  waits,  all  watchful,  in  the  "  blind," 

Whose  rough,  artistic  tracing  seems  to  l)e. 

With  all  its  tangled  drapery  of  reeds. 

Wild  rice,  and  grass,  and  leaning  willow-branch. 

Like  elfin  work  of  nature  and  the  winds. 

Mark  !  far  adown  the  distant  line  of  trees 
A  narrow  dusky  ribbon  is  revealed, 
That  nearer  comes,  and  as  it  comes  imfolds, 
And  shows  in  all  their  symmetry  of  form 
A  flock  of  ducks  outlined  upon  the  sky, 
Curving  and  wheeling  in  the  morning  light. 

And  as  they  near  the  hunter's  ambuscade 

They  turn,  they  stoop,  while  he  with  muscles  set. 

And  tense  as  steel,  and  eager-shining  eyes 

Sits  like  a  stone,  his  gun  within  his  hands; 

The  winds  are  hushed.     W\ !  what  a  picture  that — 

The  blue-bills  settling  to  the  still  decoys. 


'i 


TWILKIHT 


Down  in  the  edge  of  a  tamarack  swamp 

A  rabbit  lay  in  his  burrow, 
And  he  heard  the  elves  of  Moreas  romp 

Through  the  woods  and  field  and  furrow  ; 
And  out  in  the  dusk  the  glow-worm  lit 

His  lam])  in  the  misty  gloaming, 
And  the  night-hawks  over  the  trees  would  flit 

And  out  through  the  night  go  roaming. 

A  cricket  chirped  on  a  sassafras  limb, 

A  tree-toad  piped  on  a  willow, 
And  the  full  moon's  circle  lay  all  Oim 

Reclined  on  a  cloudy  pillow  ; 
A  whippoorwill  in  the  distance  cried, 

And  a  few  lone  star-gleams  twinkled, 
While  drifting  over  the  meadow  wide 

The  cow-bells  clanged  and  tinkled. 

Like  the  changing  folds  of  an  ancient  loom 
That  the  eye  and  mind  perplexes, 


'rwiin.iiT  17 

A  bat  criss-crossed  in  tlio  ilfepening  gloom 

And  niarkctl  aerial  X's  ; 
\Vhile  uj)  from  liie  cdK^  »f  a  shallow  hog, 

\Vith  its  iiu)ss-l)ankss()l't  and  porous, 
Came  the  sound  ofnnnstrels  all  ago^ — 

'I'he  liull-lVogs'  opening  (  horus. 

The  mist  grew  dear,  and  the  ( louds  grew  bright, 

And  the  silence  crisp  and  crisi>er. 
And  the  trailing  folds  of  the  robe  of  night 

Came  soft  as  a  ghostly  whisper  ; 
And  out  in  the  skies  the  full  moon  sailed 

With  the  stars  to  all  attend  her. 
And  the  pearl-gray  tints  of  the  twilight  failed 

In  night's  Cimmerian  splendor. 


s 


^liHilWM'lasfe-''-' 


A  SWAM.OW 

I  siNii  yi)ii  a  song  of  a  swallow 

With  a  purple  breast  ami  buoyant  wings, 
Curving  down  where  the  south  wind  springs 

Kroin  out  of  a  grassy  hollow. 

• 

From  out  of  a  sylvan  hollow — 

And  the  swift  wings  swerve  where  water  sleeps, 
And  up  from  the  depths  a  T\\y\)h  leajw 

At  the  dip  of  a  darting  swallow. 

At  the  touch  of  a  mad-eai)  swallow — 
And  his  rhythmic  sweep  of  motion  brings 
'l"he  sudden  sense  of  a  soul  on  wings, 

That  leads  where  I  long  to  follow. 


iy 


s, 


"  "!9!aW9«nWH'i'«!flWWl'WK'«i'- 


f 


a<«reJtp-j?asaaaaas»a»ag»;irjrina«ifftii»»:H'U 


JACK-SNITK 

Thk  wild  rice  dips,  the  wild  rice  bends 

And  rustles  in  the  breeze, 

As  down  the  marsh  the  west  wind  sends 

Its  message  from  the  trees  ; 

The  wild  rice  stalks  together  mass 
As  overhead  the  jack-snipe  pass. 

And  higher  still  the  shining  moon 

Sails  on  through  night's  deep  noon. 

The  wild  rice  bends,  the  wild  rice  dips 
And  whispers  soft  and  low  ; 
Like  greyhounds  loosed  from  straining  slii®, 
O'erhead  the  jack-snipe  go  ; 

Above  dead  limbs   gaunt,  naked  spars, 

And  underneath  a  sea  of  stars. 
Pale,  pallid  stars  and  argent  moon 
That  make  of  midnight  noon. 


The  wild  rice  dips,  the  wild  rice  bends,    *- 
As  through  the  starry  night 


mum 


22  JACK-SNIPE 

With  sharp-set  wing  the  ja<  k-snipe  trends 

His  migratory  flight ; 

'I'he  wild  rice  shivers,  as  with  cold, 
And  in  tlie  lieavens,  old,  so  old, 
I         Dims  down  the  heights  the  waning  moon 

And  fades  the  night's  fair  noon. 


SUMMER 

A  LANGUOROUS,  heavy  air,  with  bees  a-tiine 

O'er  basswood-blossoms  and  the  clover-tops ; 
H     A  drowsy  atmosphere  that  reels  and  drops 

Steejjed  to  the  core  in  this  red  wine  of  June, 

The  breathless  splendor  of  a  mellow  noon, 
Where  grasses  droop  l^eneath  the  fervent  heat 
And  sun-flakes  come,  on  golden -sandalled  feet, 

To  kiss  the  flowers  till  they  fall  a-swoon. 

Naught  but  the  stillness  of  the  amber  air, 

No  song  of  bird,  no  echo  of  a  song. 

'I'he  slothful  river  slowly  dreams  along 
Where  lily-cui^s  are  floating  lily  fair  ; 
A  strange  and  balmy  muteness  everywhere, 

Filling  the  universe  with  silence  deep, 

For  Summer's  hand  has  rocked  the  world  to  sleep 
And  smoothed  the  wrinkles  in  her  brow  of  care. 


i«UM"^'-''Wi»>*' 


.^-  '^' 


"li^i-^a?: 


.^> 


PA/D\^\'\-,-^^^^^ 


Far  to  the  west  the  heavy  timber  stands 

In  purple  bands,  , 

And  in  the  east  the  blossoming  day  expands 

As  through  the  clouds  the  sun-streaks  break  and  flit, 

While  bit  by  bit 
Creeps  forth  the  earth  to  warm  herself  by  morning's 
smouldering  brands. 

Emancipated  from  the  night's  dark  frown 

Stand  marshes  brown. 

And  shrill  autumnal  gusts  come  sweeping  down 

Holding  within  their  clutches  captive  leaves 

From  branching  eaves,  , 

With  red  and  russet  blazoned  smooth,  reft  from  October's 
crown. 


D.iy/iA'/:.tA-  ox  THE   MARSH 


25 


And  from  the  aml)er  waters  upward  si)ring, 

With  dripping  wing, 

The  waterfowl  and  circle,  wandering  ; 

In  airy  journeys  swerving  up  on  high 

As  through  the  sky 
'Ihey  turn  their  course  to  northward,  where  polar  breezes 
sting. 

And  far  and  near,  as  onward  still  they  go. 

From  coverts  low. 

White  puffs  of  smoke,  unfolding,  faintly  show 

Where  in  his  "  blind  "  the  hidden  sportsman  lies, 

With  watchful  eyes. 
Sending  his  bright  flame-signals  up  through  dawn's  dull- 
steeping  glow. 


Dctober's 


THE  CALL  OF  THE  UPLAND  PLOVER 

On  a  wide,  lone  waste  of  prairie  cover, 
Studded  with  flowers  here  and  there, 
Where  shadows  fall  as  the  clouds  drift  over. 
And  the  land  lies  silent  everywhere — 
All  suddenly,  sharply,  conies  a  calling 
In  flute-like  notes  from  the  far  sky  falling. 

Where  never  a  sound  else  greets  the  comer, 
This  call  goes  drifting  past  alone, 
Slow  sinking  down  through  a  sea  of  summer 
And  over  the  wind-swept  prairie  blown. 
Where  the  long,  rich  grass;  liends  low  and  closes 
Over  the  thorn-clad  red  wild  roses. 

A  bird's  clear  call  in  a  rippling  whistle, 
Floating  by  on  the  fitful  breeze, 
IJght  as  the  down  from  a  shattered  thistle, 
Sweet  as  the  murmur  of  swaying  trees ; 
The  fresh,  free  cry  of  a  prairie  rover, 
The  uncaged  call  of  an  upland  plover.. 


'w*afesai<iii<aifiiiiirfftiiiii"ii»riiaiiii>*ifiti'fiiiiMiiiiiiwiiii*ifliiiiiiiin- aiiwMaiMiriiiiiiii'iiiaiiriaM 


mrrftfi^inwiniriinii  wif  cmiftiirtiHiinii 


^twinniii  1 1— iiiiii«wiiiipin:i|«ii#»iiiiwi.i«in!]iniii 


:•• 


t 


d 


FI.rsHKI) 

Thick  coverts  in  the  island  Ixigs, 
With  liere  and  there  darlt,  shallow  pools, 
W'lere  wriggling  tadpoles  swim  in  schools 
Around  the  l)la<k.  half-simken  logs; 
And  with  its  limbs  like  gaunt-hewn  hands 
A  sycamore's  huge,  knotted  trunk, 
As  some  old,  shorn,  and  wrinkled  monk, 
Solemnly  in  the  silence  stands. 

A  rustling  where  the  cover  lays, 
A  soft  step  pattering  in  the  brake — 
A  form  that  makes  the  alders  shake 
Threading  along  in  winding  ways. 
And  then  within  a  brushy  place 
From  out  an  ojjening  appears. 
With  great  brown  eyes  and  silken  ears, 
An  eager  water-spaniel's  face. 

He  takes  one  step,  when  outward  springs 
A  bird  whose  arrowy,  agile  flight 


so 


FLUSHED 


Seenis  as  a  sudden  flash  of  light 
Borne  upward  on  mercurial  wings; 
The  lianging  brush  an  instant  parts, 
Shrill  sounds  a  whistle  of  surprise, 
And,  meteor-like,  before  his  eyes 
Up  through  the  trees  a  woodcock  darts. 


'»iWi»WWIMIIIJWI»»]lHIW 


THE    YELEOW-HAMMER 

White  shreds  of  cloud,  like  foamy  surf, 

Horizonward  float  past, 
And  slantwise  on  the  emerald  turf 

Their  lengthened  shadows  cast. 
While  dark  against  the  morning  sun, 
Whose  ruddy  creepers  upward  run. 
Silent  along  the  silent  sky 
The  brown  cow-blackbirds  fly. 

And  piercing  out  as  trumpet  shrill 

The  flicker's  challenge  breaks 
From  out  the  oaks  which  crovn  a  hill 

That  overlooks  the  lakes  ; 
A  long-drawn  chattering  c:y  elate, 
An(i  then  from  his  expectant  mate 
A  faint-heard  answering  cry  replies 
From  some  far  wooded  rise. 

And  then  across  an  open  place 
Between  the  serried  trees. 


•i-v 


|i 


THE    YELLOW-lIAMMliR 

High  up  in  sun -surrounded  space, 

A  golden  shadow  flees, 
In  curves  that  rise  and  curves  that  dip 
As  graceful  as  a  courtesying  ship, 
With  measured  stroke  of  pinions  bright 
That  marks  the  flicker's  flight. 


HMMM 


J 


Ma 


OLD    GRIP 

He  dreams  beside  the  chimney's  base 
There  in  his  snug,  accustomed  place; 
The  kettle  sings  upon  the  crane 
And  on  the  window  clinks  the  rain, 
While  bogies  from  the  chimney  tall 
Throw  shadow-shafts  along  the  wall  ; 
Yet  recks  he  not  of  sight  or  sound — 
Old  Grip,  the  rabbit  hound. 

How  strong  he  is,  from  brawny  hijis 
Up  to  his  tawny,  wrinkled  lii)s  ; 
From  muzzle  to  the  velvet  flank 
From  chest  to  barrel,    eck  to  shank  ; 
How  graceful,  and  how  lithe  and  fleet. 
Why,  when  he  runs,  his  nimble  feet 
Seem  in  their  flight  to  skim  the  ground- 
Old  Grip,  the  rabbit  hound. 


The  hickory  back-log  glows  and  shines, 
And  in  his  sleep  the  old  dog  whines ; 


36 


OLD   CRJP 

Again  he  roams  among  tlie  trees 
And  •*  molly  cottontail "  lie  sees  ; 
Then  instantly  away,  away, 
While  ring  the  woods  with  mellow  bay, 
Clearing  the  fences  at  a  lx)und— 
Old  Grip,  the  rabbit  hound. 

The  faithfulness  you  seek  from  friends 
In  hollow  phrase  begins  and  ends ; 
The  love  of  woman  that  you  crave 
Breaks  like  the  bubble  on  a  wave  ; 
The  world,  that  grim  old  pedagogue, 
Has  taught  me  to  respect  a  dog, 
For  faith  and  love  can  aye  be  found 
In  Grip,  the  rabbit  hound. 


dWiMaMMM 


RMM 


niilliiiii 


IMHK 


Ill  nm  MMifmumiiar'*^  p>"-'iMPmw*»u»'' 


THE   WIND   IN   THE   TREES 

The  camp-fire  smoulders,  the  charred  fagots  darkle, 
As  night  from  her  canoi)y  reigns ; 
The  glow-worms  alternately  vanish  and  sparkle 
Weird  swamp-light  that  waxes  and  wanes, 
And  aloft,  like  a  murmur  of  myriad  bees 
Is  the  wind  in  the  trees. 

I  lie  on  my  blanket,  a  saddle  my  pillow. 
And  watch  the  pale  crescent  on  high  ; 
Each  pine-top  sways  down  like  a  slim  wand  of  willow 
'  As  gathering  breezes  go  by. 
While  the  music  I  hear  as  I  rest  at  my  ease  :- 

Is  the  wind  in  the  trees. 

The  hound  at  my  feet  crouches  low  near  an  ember 
And  harks  to  the  camp-kettle's  croon. 
The  ash-heai»  have  ridged  like  the  snows  of  December 
And  cold  in  the  rays  of  the  moon,  - 

While  rising  and  falling  in  lulling  degrees 
Is  the  wind  in  the  trees. 


*4 
J 


^mnmatf^lfr—^. 


38 


T///-:  irfxn  /.v  rnr.  trees 


A  rustling  of  leaves  and  a  ( reaking  of  branches, 
A  herald  of  midnight  borne  fast  ; 
A  rush,  as  of  loosened  and  mad  avalanches, 
And  peace  when  the  tumult  has  passed  ; 
An  ebb  and  a  flow  of  aerial  seas — 
Is  the  wind  in  the  trees. 


There's  a  throb  in  my  heart  and  a  mist  on  my  lashes 
As  darkness  around  me  is  thrown. 
While  the  world  fades  away  like  the  crumbling  of  ashes 
As  I  wander  through  mazes  unknown  ; 
And  above  me,  wild  songs  in  ^olian  keys, 
Is  the  wind  in  the  trees. 


-i»ti"":""*?*j-'i 


hes 


asnes 


\m 


ik 


5v\ 


o 


^ 


o 


GONE   AWAY 

Hill,  meadow,  dale,  and  rustling  woods, 

And  overhead  are  sharp  cloud-lines 
Etched  on  the  skyey  solitudes  ; 

A  fresh  wind  blown  from  scented  pines, 
A  clash  of  hoofs,  a  motley  rout 

Crossing  the  road  in  bright  array  ; 
Hark  to  that  sudden,  eager  shout — 

"  Gone  away,  away  ;  gone  away  !  " 

Then  o'er  the  country-side  resounds 

The  wild,  weird  music  of  the  chase ; 
Far,  far  ahead  the  gallant  hounds 

Together  running,  lead  the  race ; 
And  after  them  the  hunters  pass 

Like  arrows  through  the  morning  gray  j 
Hark  i  quivering  o'er  the  trampled  grass — 

"  Gone  away,  away ;  gone  away  !  " 

Through  the  sheep-pasture  runs  the  fox. 
Steals,  wraith-like,  'mid  the  thickets  dense. 


ilii 


— i^j|!iiJl,HI!liillJH|iiji^iH  U.yPM' " 


;,-, 


42  GONE  AWAY 

Trips  nimbly  over  logs  and  rocks 
Then  glides  along  an  old  rail  fence, 

And  faintly  sounds  within  his  ears 
The  leading  dog's  melodious  bay  ; 

The  opening  cry  no  more  he  hears — 
i  '<  Gone  away,  away  ;  gone  away  !  " 


The  noise  dies  out,  and  wood-birds  call 

From  quiet,  leafy  coverts  dim, 
And  acorns  from  the  oak-trees  tall 

Drop,  plummet-like,  from  topmost  limb; 
All  now  is  hushed,  sweet  silence  reigns 

And  yet  an  echo  seems  to  say, 
Soft  whispering  through  the  fields  and  lanes— 
^-       «•  Gone  away,  away ;  gone  away  !  " 


AT  THE   THRESHOLD 

Prone  on  her  face  at  Autumn's  feet. 
Where  August  and  September  meet, 
Lies  Summer,  and  complaining  grieves 
The  changing  tints  of  all  her  leaves, 
The  gathering  bloom  upon  the  rye. 
The  darker  purple  in  the  sky  ; 
While  at  the  threshold  waiting  stands 
A  messenger  from  other  lands. 


No  more  bright  clover  tufts  shall  nod 
Above  the  warm,  sunshiny  sod, 
Along  the  streams  and  o'er  the  hills 
A  russet  tide  its  force  instils ; 
Brown-vestured  monks  are  all  the  trees, 
And  gone  the  hum  of  wandering  bees ; 
While  through  the  misty  woodlands  dusk 
Float  pungent  odors,  myrrh  and  musk. 

Oh,  Summer  !  still  thy  splendor  fades, 
As  deeper  grow  autumnal  shades, 


44  AT  TITF.    THRESHOLD 

And  still  the  air  an  incense  yields 
Slow  rising  from  the  stubble-fields, 
Flames  red  the  sumach  by  the  wall 
More  clearly  sweet  the  waters  call, 
And  by  the  road  where  travellers  plod 
I         Spring  feathery  spires  of  golden-rod. 

For  thee  no  more  shall  roses  blow, 
Nor  odorous  south  winds  come  and  go, 
Before  thy  sight  no  more  shall  pass 
Cloud-shadows  o'er  the  meadow  grass. 
Gone  are  the  signs  of  summer  drouth 
With  swift-winged  swallows  hurrying  south. 
For  shadowed  forth,  with  sun-browned  hands, 
Old  Autumn  at  the  threshold  stands. 


ft. 


QUAIL 

Down  near  the  timlier,  at  a  corn-field's  edge, 

Where  airy  thistle  seeds 

Sail  back  and  forth  where  each  air-current  leads, 

Close  by  the  corner  of  a  tangled  hedge, 

A  dog  stands  firm,  half-hidden  in  the  weeds 

And  listens,  yet  no  warning  whistle  heeds. 

Patient  he  waits  ;  his  attitude  the  same 

As  when,  all  unaware. 

While  rummaging  and  snuffing  here  and  there 

The  scent  came  suddenly  of  lurking  game ; 

His  wrinkled  nose  sniffs  at  the  tainted  air 

And  in  the  maze  his  sharp  eyes  sideways  stare. 


Around  the  hedge  his  master  slowly  walks, 
And  walking,  tramj^  and  stirs 
In  grassy  covert,  briars,  weeds,  and  burrs. 
Brushing  the  gossamers  from  thistle  stalks ; 
Then  sees  the  dog,  stei»  to  the  matted  furze 
An  instant  more,  and  up  the  bevy  whirrs. 


48 


QUAIL 


Over  the  scrub,  with  buzzing  wings  it  goes 

And  scatters  in  affright ; 

Up  to  his  shoulder,  as  he  marks  the  flight, 

The  hunter  instantly  his  shot-gun  throws, 

And  feathers  slow  are  drifting,  brown  and  white, 

As  ring  the  detonations  left  and  right. 


IN  THE   TAMARACKS 

Slim,  feathery-shafted  trees  that  lift 
Their  cone-like  branchings  dry, 

Where  streaks  of  sunlight  slowly  sift 
And  filter  down  each  narrow  rift 

To  where  the  mosses  lie ; 
And  brambles,  logs,  and  matted  shoots 
Stretch,  cross,  and  twist  round  gnarly  roots. 


And  there  a  wandering  footstej)  sounds, 

Slow  moving  here  and  there 
Over  the  yielding,  spongy  mounds 
And  circling  in  recurring  rounds 

And  out  through  spaces  bare ; 
Then  all  at  once  the  noises  sink, 
While  slides  the  sun  through  many  a  chink. 

Then  a  gay  blue-jay  shrilly  calls, 

And  round  a  rotten  stump 
A  garter-snake,  all  glistening,  crawls, 


m 


m 


50 


/.V   /•///•;    rAAfAKACKS 


And,  hark  !    a>,'ain  the  footstep  falls 

Heside  a  l)nishy  cliimi) ; 
Rings  a  rei)ort,  and  through  the  limlw 
An  old  cock  partridge  swiftly  skims. 


I 


mmmm 


J 


Cw>^'.  -* 


Odvl  j 


J 


MY   ANCIENT   HUNTING-COAT 


An  old  brown  garment,  patched  and  weather-worn, 

With  pockets  numberless  on  every  side, 
Long,  ragged  rents,  by  envious  briars  torn, 

And  darkened  spots  in  divers  places  dyed  ; 
Faint  streaks  of  yellow  here  and  there  descried, 

And  ravelled  edges  by  the  thickets  shorn, 
A  rough,  stanch  coat  thro'  storm  and  sunshine  tried 

And  over  many  a  mile  of  field  and  prairie  borne. 

Discolored  by  the  sleet  and  driving  rain 

And  faded  by  the  burning  autumn  sun, 
The  texture  firm,  with  interwoven  grain 

Within  its  russet  threads,  though  closely  spun 
Shows  what  the  gnawing  teeth  of  time  have  done  ; 

On  the  right  shoulder  is  a  smooth,  wide  stain 
That  marks  the  place  where,  shiftingly,  the  gun 

Has  in  my  old-time  out-door  wanderings  often  lain. 

Here  is  some  plumage  from  a  pheasant's  crest. 
And  here  are  traces  of  a  rabbit's  fur, 


i  n^' 


■Osssssrsssssi!*'"* 


54  MY  ANCIENT  HUNTING-COAT 

And  in  this  corner,  hidden  with  the  rest, 
Chngs  to  the  cloth  a  prickly  cockle-bur 

That  pierces  suddenly  and  like  a  spur  ; 
And  in  this  upper  pocket  close  are  pressed 

Old  sprays  of  sumach,  full  of  woodsy  myrrh 

And  various  feathers,  too,  in  motley  colors  drest. 

And  these  bring  pictures  to  my  dreaming  eyes 

Of  river,  woodland,  marsh,  and  stubble-field, 
As  by-gone  days,  like  ghosts  forgotten  rise 

And  olden  memories  are  again  unsealed ; 
Like  legends  carven  on  an  antique  shield 

These  days  come  back  and  woo  in  dear  disguise 
While  Nature  waits,  in  loveliness  revealed. 

Under  a  still,  rapt  glory  of  far  unshadowed  skies. 


■■aWffffl^AJ!  HHHCT  W":-' 


^«WB>t!Bg|WBy|^i!#IAI.UWt'  --- 


THE    BLUE-JAY 

The  blackbird  v/histles  in  early  spring, 

And  the  bob'link's  notes  o'er  the  meadows  ring; 

The  swallows  twitter  from  the  ivied  wall 

But  the  blue-jay  comes  in  the  fall.  • 


The  robin  pipes  when  the  sunlight  shines, 
And  the  oriole  sings  in  the  tangled  vines; 
In  summer  thickets  the  cat-birds  call 
But  the  blue-jay  comes  in  the  fall. 


, 


The  wild  canary  likes  the  weather  warm, 
And  the  brown  thrush  chants  after  each  June  storm  ; 
When  the  green  leaves  turn  they  will  vanish  all 
But  the  blue-jay  comes  in  the  fall. 

These  sun-nourished  songsters,  let  them  go, 
For  they  dare  not  face  one  flake  of  snow ; 
The  bare  trees  herald  the  winter's  thrall 
But  the  blue-jay  comes  in  ihe  fall. 


56 


THE  BLUE- J  AY 


And  down  in  the  woods  I  heard  his  cry, 
And  his  bright  Wue  wings  went  flashing  by ; 
December  waits  with  an  icy  pall 
But  the  blue-jay  comes  in  the  fall. 


by; 


ii| 


'fki 


A    "POINT' 


By  rude  Noveml)er's  hands  the  woods  are  shorn, 

And  dead  leaves  whirl  in  gusty  eddies  round  ; 
And  by  an  old  rail  fence  a  field  of  corn 

Sways,  snaiw,  and  rustles  with  a  creaking  sound 
As  dry  husks  break  and  flutter  to  the  groiuid  ; 

While  sigli  the  winds  in  melody  forlorn, 
And  crisp,  thick  grass,  by  russet  autumn  browned, 

Waves  in  the  cool  tide  floating  o'er  the  morn. 

Deep  in  a  thorny  patch  that  skirts  the  fence 

Are  huddled  close  a  lievy  of  shy  (luail, 
Where  the  wide  thicket  reaches  brown  and  dense, 

Along  a  sIojh;  that  crowns  the  narrow  swale  j 
All  cosily  they  nestle  'neath  a  veil 

Of  briars  and  of  thistle-stalks,  from  whence 
Wee  ships  of  gossamer  spread  snowy  sail, 

And  cobwebs  stretch  in  fairy  tether  tense. 


Lo  !  a  light  footstep,  and  a  dog  draws  nigh, 
Then  pauses,  rigid,  as  if  carved  of  stone, 


!fimsmm0xi»$m»'*ii!s«semmegmimi!mi'^*''' 


^•[•"iVpiii' 


60 


porvT" 


And  quick  e.\i  itenient  lights  his  eager  cvi.-, 

As  straight  ahead  his  piercing  glance   s  thrown  ; 

The  well-known  scent  across  his  pathway  l)lown 
Fills  his  keen  nostrils  as  it  trasses  by, 

And  tells  him  that  among  the  briars  prone, 
And  out  of  sight,  the  bright-eyed  bevy  lie. 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


^-r^:i^^^^^^mmmm:f^?s^m^^mm>?i^»m^mmm:  '.^:i:■^^ 


IN    AUTUMN    WOODS 

Crisp-rustling  leaves  in  scattered  lines 
Under  the  bare,  deserted  trees  ; 
Dead  branches  stripped  of  every  leaf, 
And  sombre  winds  that  tell  their  grief 
Through  shadowy  vistas  such  as  these. 
Hung  here  and  there  with  russet  vines ; 
Gone  all  the  colors  June  once  bore 
And  all  that  Indian-summer  wore, 
While  in  the  creek's  smooth  pools  below 
The  waters  dark  and  darker  glow, 
In  Autumn  Woods. 


Sweet,  silent  hushes  in  these  aisles, 
Filled  with  the  breath  of  lasting  calm  ; 
iEolian  echoes,  vaguely  strange, 
That  whisper  of  eventful  change, 
While  cleaving  through  the  misty  balm 
A  wandering  sunbeam  softly  smiles ; 
Here  lurks  amid  the  arches  rude 


HMH 


yffi»j':.'j,iii.',>-";''!'g,v^A-'.','.'-"' 


62 


/y  A  UTUMy  WOODS 


The  gray  old  ghost  of  solitude, 
And  here  along  the  lonely  path 
Fades  out  the  summer's  aftermath, 
In  Autumn  Woods. 


1^' 


^vi&V.ffir-v^-iiE.i'l**''  ■  ■ 


^Aif\. 


If 


A   PRAIRIE   ROVER 


■T'- 


Ai-ONO  a  line  of  timlier  lies  the  lake, 

A  liquid  floor, 

And  wailing  croons  November's  eerie  voice 

Beside  the  shore ; 

The  lily-pads,  like  sleeping  faces,  lie 

Upon  a  bed 

Of  dimpled  waters,  shadow-crossed  and  lone, 

And  overhead, 

All  meteor-like  across  the  russet  sky, 

A  bunch  of  teal  come  sailing  swiftly  by. 

And  in  their  airy  wake,  and  gaining  fast 
With  lightning  speed,  a  dark  bird  whizzes  past. 

One  whirling  curve  pursuers  and  pursued 

Together  make, 

Then  downward  stoops  the  scattered  line  of  ducks 

Toward  the  lake ; 

But  as  they  near  the  refuge  waiting  there, 

The  duck-hawk  springs. 


a.^m/ermmm 


,<H.ii«-r-lf  »■  '?' 


^6  ../   PKAIRII-:   RO\-F.R 

Cutting  the  trembling  air  at  one  <iiiick  swoop 

Witli  rustling  wings, 

And  o'er  the  prairie,  floating  soft  and  white. 

Are  leather-signs  that  mark  the  duck-hawk's  flight. 


bite, 

vk's  flight. 


SUMACH 

CcMRSE-cRAiNEi)  aiul  harsh  the  slender  stalks 

Of  wayside  sumach  stand, 

And  each  lithe  branch  uplifted  seems 

As  some  cup-bearer,  tanned, 

Who  holds  to  Auttuiin's  lips  divine 

A  goblet  of  sun-tinted  wine 

With  mute,  adoring  hand. 

And  deeply  to  the  very  lees 

The  russet  goddess  drains        , 

These  jewelled  cuiw  that  erst  were  filled 

From  Summer's  glowing  veins — 

Red  draughts  that  hold  the  subtle  sense 

Of  pungent  sylvan  frankincense 

And  misty  later  rains. 

Then,  like  some  alchemy  of  old, 
The  magic  ichor  flies 
From  pulse  to  heart,  and  rising  lends 
New  glory  to  her  eyes. 


Ki'«lfi&S'fc«JJW»*j»»<^K»^*''«***ft;te';'-"*i'ft^'^«*s^^ 


m 


iiii^     I  iMMWUfWI 


68 


SUMAC  If 


Where  shadowy  fire  an  instant  leajw 
As  lightning  from  a  doiui  that  sleeiw 
Fast  moored  in  stormy  slcies. 


And  blithely  as  she  passes  on 
Sound  Autumn's  chariot-wheels, 
As  gliding  through  her  being  swift, 
The  sumach's  life  she  feels  ; 
While  over  all  the  landscape  brown 
A  flood  of  sunlight  rushes  down 
And  baffled  winter  kneels. 


Tl 


3Kim<'SNS-|{'  WfSif^'mf. 


=*S&Ui--*^tf-H;tf^.0»4.i4«5Kte-  ,  „-.^i*,j£S5?ti*?*^--*-'*-'«'^-'^»''-'^^'-'' 


^ 


«r   .,s*#.'^y >■■»■,.  /-r," 


IP 


"HARD   HIT" 

Grim  on  a  topmost  branch  he  stood, 
All  statue-like,  against  the  sky, 

The  breath  of  Autumn  filled  the  wood 
And  slumbrous  clouds  swam  far  on  high. 

Then,  whip-like,  came  a  rifle-shot — 
How  sinister  its  challenge  sang  ! 

And  with  his  death-wound  fairly  got 
Into  the  air  the  old  hawk  sprang. 

One  stroke  his  wings  made  ere  he  swerved 
High  o'er  the  shadow -haunted  dell, 

One  blow  with  talons  outward  curved, 
Then,  sudden  as  he  leaped,  he  fell. 


1! 


maaiiMiawtmif  it'  mtiti 


^'4*-' 


AUTUMN 

A  CORN-FIELD  Stretching  to  the  woods  below, 
Where  corn-husks  crack  and,  breaking  up,  unfold 
The  grains  of  corn  in  many  a  tempting  row, 
With  Nature's  stamp  upon  the  virgin  gold  ; 
Great  yellow  pumpkins  on  the  fertile  mould. 
And  vines  slow -spreading  through  the  spaces  d.m, 
While  over  all  a  whispered  vesper  hymn 
Drifts  from  the  edges  of  the  forest  old. 

And  there,  arrayed  in  burnished  armor  brown, 
Tall,  solemn  oaks,  like  giant  warriors  rise. 
And  through  the  hazy  vistas  dropping  down. 
Come  buoyant  leaves,  in  red  and  russet  dyes, 
Above  the  trees  a  lone  crow  slowly  flies 
Winging  his  flight  toward  the  dying  sun. 
While  Autumn,  like  a  sweet-faced,  holy  nun, 
'     Shades  with  a  trembling  hand  her  sad  brown  eyes. 


rnn  iiniiiwmni 


iM«M«MHlHi)ta» 


roitr;:- —  .   ,      ' '  ",""•  ""■"■'»■ 


RED   AND   BROWN 

Thf.  sumach's  flaming  colors  rise  beside  the  old  stone 

wall 
And  hazel-bushes,   sunshine-browned,   are  whispering 

in  the  breeze. 
While  through  the  woods  on  every  side  is  heard  the 

crackling  fall 
Of  ripened  nuts  slow  falling  from  the  swaying  hickory- 
trees. 

Upon  a  gnarled  and  new-cut  stump  beneath  the  sturdy 

oaks 
A  spider,   running    back    and    forth,    a  fairy   circle 

weaves — 
A  silver  wheel,  whose  glistening  hub  and  filmy  maze  of 

spokes 
Is  stretched  across  the  splinters  in  the  shadow  of  the 

leaves. 

The  velvet  moss  on  ancient  logs  is  fading  into  gray  ; 
A  fox-squirrel  runs  across  the  leaves,  that  rustle  as  he 
leai», 


uiwi  iiiM«miiiiM*nwiiiiiiawiM|iii 


..    *»>»- 


74 


RED  AND  BROWN 


And  through  the  trees  the  sunlight  falls  and  slowly  melts 
away, 
Where  round  a  bend  in  darkling  curves  the  pulsing 
water  sweeps. 

Low,  sweet  and   low,  and   liquidly,   the  creek's   faint 
echoes  call, 
While  on  its  amber  current  float  the  oak-leaves  crisp 

and  brown, 
And  all  day  long,  as  winds  dance  past  across  the  tree-tops 
tall. 
From  Iwanches  bare  the  hickory-nuts  come  rattling 

slowly  down. 


'■h'miamiiMimMmmmtmmttmamimtett^ 


> 


■iiiiiai*jiily»iiniiiiiiii 


1.-1 


I 


% 

1 

■! 


:| 


\.  ,   '» 


ir  1 


mmm 


!■»■<**■ 


mimmmfi^^im*! 


THE   TWELVE-TIN'EI)    HUCK 

Thk  mist  rose  out  of  the  valley, 
The  mist  climbed  uj)  from  the  lake, 

And  a  musk-rat's  course  in  the  water 
Spread  out  in  a  glimmering  wake. 

The  red  sun's  edge  came  peeping 

O'er  the  top  of  a  far-off  hill. 
The  winds  lay  furled  in  the  floating  clouds 

And  the  leaves  and  the  grass  were  still. 

But  over  the  pines  and  cedars 

Re-echoed  a  distant  horn. 
And  a  hound's  faint  bay  i  himed  with  it 

In  the  hush  of  the  waking  morn.  , 

And  then  from  a  balsam  thicket 
Came  the  sound  of  a  sudden  crash, 

And  a  twelve-tined  buck  sprang  out  and  stood 
By  the  side  of  a  quaking  ash. 


_,» 


78  Tin-.  rwKi.ihyrixEn  hi-ck 

His  Ijorns  were  !)ro\vn  as  the  Autumn, 

And  liis  hoofs  hke  jasper  shone, 
And  his  dark  eyes  gleamed  in  the  dawning 

As  he  snuffed  the  breeze  alone. 

And  then  as  the  gathering  e(  hoes 
Mrought  up  the  hounds'  deej*  cry, 

He  passed  like  a  steel-gray  shadow 
And  scattered  the  pine-cones  dry. 

And  down  through  the  tall  i)ine  timber, 

kf,  an  arrow  will  cut  its  way, 
He  fled  to  the  (]uickening  clamor 

Of  the  hounds  with  their  mellow  bay. 

The  partridge  flew  from  the  pine-top 
As  the  twelve-tined  buck  went  by, 

And  the  chipmunk  dived  in  a  knot-hole  smooth 
And  closed  his  glittering  eye. 

And  a  black-snake  slid  from  his  coiling 

And  deejjer  in  shadows  crept. 
And  a  great  white  owl,  disturbed  on  high, 

Called  once,  and  then  he  slept. 

But  out  from  the  shade  and  shadow. 
And  down  through  the  woods  apace. 


iwrremrnfc^ 


rill.  r\\  i:i.ii:-ri.\i:n  nucK 

Ciiine  tlic  (Klt  with  Uie  tlogs  piirsding, 
Anil  out  through  an  ojicn  spact;. 


79 


looth 


Anil  tlioro  for  a  I'atet'nl  instant 

The  irai  k  of  a  ritle  came, 
A  puff  of  smoke  in  the  russet  air, 

Death- tipped  with  a  dart  of  flame. 

But  ovlt  thi-  buck's  broad  antlers 
'i'he  wandering  liullet  flew, 

And  into  the  '.angled  cujiwes 

He  plunged  and  battled  through. 

While  still  on  the  trail  came  floating, 
As  he  flcr'  with  his  mighty  Iwunds, 

The  deep,  relentless  baying 

Of  the  first  of  the  foremost  hounds. 

So  he  tuned  to  the  sleeping  water 
Edged  round  with  spongy  moss, 

And  leaped  in  the  dimpling  ripples 
And  bravely  swam  across, 

Where  a  long,  low  island  stretching, 
In  the  midst  of  the  lonely  lake. 

Held  bog  and  fern,  and  a  haven 
Of  shadowy,  wildest  brake. 


I 


80 


THE    TWELVK-TINKD  BUCK' 


And  into  its  far  recesses 

He  dropijcd  like  a  wind-tossed  waif, 
And  a  deer-hound  whined  on  the  shore  he  left, 

But  the  twelve- tined  buck  was  safe. 


*- 


ft, 


w^immmmim^ 


PAN 


■■■' 


By  the  wandering  river 

Forever, 

VViiere  restless  waters  ran, 

Would  the  reeds  croon  low 

When  the  winds  did  blow, 

Under  the  touch  of  Pan, 

Great  Pan, 

Who  played  where  the  ripples  ran. 

At  the  edge  of  the  river, 

Oh  !  never 

As  yet  surpassed  by  man, 

From  the  reed -bed  floats 

Those  musical  notes 

Fresh  from  the  lips  of  Pan, 

God  Pan, 

So  far  from  the  haunts  of  man. 


None  by  the  dreaming  river 
Shall  ever 


I 


% 


<steimmmsum6a»mef0Km 


ir^ii?i^'*i^f '-'^^•'•'-'^'i^"'*^'"^'^  "^ ""  ^"'"■"■^'^'■'"'^'"■^ 


i' 


82 


PA^r 


His  face  or  figure  scan. 

Yet  they  all  may  hear 

A  melody  clear, 

I'he  rhythmic  runes  of  Pan, 

dray  Pan, 

In  the  wilds  remote  from  man. 


HMH 


mm  -i        r^r^f,: '  ^ '" '-"  "  ■■ " !  "f  '* 


iii.ii(Hiin](iwBmM^  I'lfsy^^iipiy  '"-^^ 


^OLIAN    ECHOES 

Nav,  then,  for  trifles  rude  as  these 

Shall  Orpheus  sweep  the  vibrant  strings : 
A  squirrel's  brush,  a  sumach  bough," 
"  A  partridge  and  a  jay-bird's  wings." 

I  see  the  dull  December  woods 

Most  darkly  wrapped  in  sombre  hue, 

And  lightly  through  their  leafless  tops 
The  jay-bird  flits — a  patch  of  blue. 

And  where  among  the  branches  bare 
The  waves  of  morning  rise  and  fall. 

All  querulous  and  shrill  resounds 

The  wandering  jay-bird's  woodland  call. 


.: 


^._j£^^^£aj^ 


84    •  •       •         ^KOL/.tx  EC  no  US 

A  hickory-tree  among  the  oaks 
An  instant  in  the  stiUness  swings, 

As  from  the  slender  topmost  limlw 
X  hurrying  squirrel  outward  springs. 

And  down  a  gnarled  and  ancient  oak 
With  agile  leaps  the  space  he  clears, 

Near  to  a  hole  his  gay  brush  flaunts 
One  moment,  then  he  disappears. 

A  waste  of  leaves  all  crisp  and  brown. 
And  briars  where  the  cobweb  clings  ; 

Old  logs,  a  brush-pile  here  and  there. 
And  all  at  once  a  whirr  of  wings. 

As  from  a  hazel-thicket  dense 
Near  to  a  rolling  wooded  rise, 

With  rustling  noise  of  pinions  broad. 
Swift  through  the  trees  a  partridge  flies. 

A  scarlet  tinge  that  dyes  the  west, 

Cloud-ships  l^eneath  with  ruddy  prows, 

And  redder  still,  yet  darlly  red, 
I  see  the  glowing  sumach  boughs. 

Their  clustered  shapes  like  goblets  seem, 
All  brimming  over,  one  by  one, 


iVtiiA^  MkMs.  siia^JS^\':^:}i'.i.'iem.'^t^ilS^ 


mmm^am 


.KOl.lAX  KC//OES 

With  ruby  drops  that  catch  the  fire 
Which,  westward,  marks  the  dying  sun. 

Thus  fancy  draws  with  misty  Hnes 
These  etchings  that  I  copy  now  : 
'  A  partridge  and  a  jay-bird's  wings," 
"  A  squirrel's  brush  and  sumach  bough." 


«5 


^1 


_  _;jiiiiV'.Mg>>rJtf<'^i^*i'tf*^i^'*^^"''^''^**^'^''*^ 


pEi^T^T-- 


^Br^J.M-t'i 


SUNRISE 

First,  one  by  one,  the  stars  stole  soft  away, 
And  dark  and  darker  grew  the  western  rim  ; 
The  horned  moon's  bright  histre  'gan  to  dim, 

And  then  long  ripples  came  of  ashen  gray 
That  tipped  the  dusky  billows  of  the  night 
With  myriad  trembling  flakes  of  faintest  light. 

Next,  shapeless  things  new  forms  began  to  take, 
A  milk-white  lance  flashed  thro'  the  eastern  skies, 
And  Dawn  unwilling  came  with  drowsy  eyes, 

All  dreamily,  as  only  half-awake  ; 

Then  slowly  rose  the  sun,  a  fiery  shield. 
And  one  lone  bird-note  sounded  far  afield. 


K 


N;. 


il 


skies, 


il 

■;i  ii 


.-ll 


/    s 


I 


A    "DOUIU.K  " 

Low  to  the  east  the  shadows  all  are  tinged 

With  faint,  far  crimson  hnes  that  rise  and  tail, 
Then  slowly  spread  to  where  the  lake  is  fringeil 

With  willows,  reeds,  and  rushes  brown  and  tall ; 
And  eastward  where  the  river  winds  along. 

High  up  a  i)air  of  mallards  wing  their  (light 
With  outstretched  necks  and  i)inions  fleet  and  strong, 

When  to  the  right 
Out  leaps  a  double  flash  of  flame  through  the  pale,  marshy 
light. 

Two  quick  reports  that  blend  almost  in  one, 
Two  jets  of  fire  that  pierce  the  morning  gray, 

And  the  deep  echoes,  booming,  roll  along 
The  solitary  lake  and  die  away. 


Like  a  lead-plummet  falls  the  foremost  bird 
Into  the  waters  of  the  reedy  lake. 

And  as  the  second  sharp  report  is  heard 
The  stricken  mate,  a  noble  mallard  drake, 


90 


A  "  Dot'ftrr:" 


Strikes  his  stroiiK  winKS  toKctlier  as  he  droiw. 

Spins  n)mul  and  round  and  drooi«  his  bright  green 
head, 
'llien  wliirls  tlown  to  the  water,  where  ho  stoja 

And  floats  stone-dead. 
While  round  him  s<  attered  feathers  lie  upon  a  riin.ling 

lK;d. 


roen 


ling 


SUNSI'.T 

A  oni.i,  wi.u!  Dlcw  from  ihe  far  m.rtlnvc-st, 
Ami  clown  thro. ;.h  the  gatrs..f. lay  it  »ame; 

The  sun  sunk  low  in  a  fading  glow 
And  shadows  i.ll  on  the  cold  earth's  breast  ; 
The  dead  leaves  stirred,  and  a  last  year's  nest 
Shook,  as  the  winds  went  wandering  by 
Through  the  sunset's  llanie. 


The  reeds  s.tcod  black  at  the  water's  edge. 
Where  the  uvu.n's  faint  crescent  lay  so  still, 
And  twilight  shades  from  the  upland  glades 
Drifted  down  over  field  and  hedge  ; 
The  wind  .ang  sharp  in  the  withered  sedge. 
And  a  last  red  gleam  flared  up  and  out 
From  a  distant  lull. 


aaimm  ii.M^uwmmi'-iJfW»^-Mi*-'u.L'     ■■ " 


ff 


vm^'tiyitmi^.'-f 


-^ ^..^ , ] .^ i-.  1  j.i- ■'.: -^ „"^j -■  L 'iJi i^HOFPLL ■  J •_i;j ' "^i r't II  _  7 1 ' ) '."ij "r;* f  1  fH'l  ^ 


THI-:   GRAY    GOOSE    QUILL  ' 

I  TAKE  my  gray  goose  (iiiill  in  act  to  write, 

But  gone  are  all  my  thoughts,  for  eclioes  near 

A  clarion-uttered  signal  strong  and  clear — 

The  clanging  of  the  wild  geese  ir  their  flight, 

As  down  across  the  wide  and  star -strewn  night 

'I'hey  hold  their  wedge-shaped  course  throughout  the  sere 

And  boundless  void  of  that  bleak  atmosphere, 

Where  swims  the  moon  in  garish,  ghostly  light 

And  cloudy  haze.     Again  upon  the  marsh, 

Within  the  rough-built  blind,  alert  I  stand. 

And  eastward  look  for  the  first  dawning  ray  ; 

And  now,  as  memory  holds  subtle  sway, 

I  hear  a  distant  honking,  crisp  and  harsh. 

And  crush  my  winged  jjen  in  clenched  right  hand. 


1 


COBWEBS 

A  SPIDER  spun  a  gossamer  web 
With  threads  of  the  finest  tether, 
And  as  hght  as  the  buoyant  thistle-down 
It  swayed  in  the  wind  and  weather. 

And  over  the  threads  the  breezes  swept 
As  sweet  as  a  fairy  vesper, 
And  over  the  leaves  and  the  grass  below 
Came  a  faint  ^olian  whisper : 

"  Oh,  I  was  woven  of  silken  strands 
In  a  web  and  woof  together, 
And  I  swing  from  a  thistle's  prickly  top 
On  the  brown  and  wind-swept  heather. 


"  I'm  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  cricket's  chirp, 
I  wake  at  the  skylark's  warning ; 
I  am  wooed  by  the  twilight's  loving  eyes 
And  the  tender  kiss  of  morning. 


94  COBWEBS 

"  I  hear  the  chant  of  the  Ijending  trees 
From  a  distant  thicket's  cover, 
And  faint  and  far  from  the  sky  above 
The  cry  of  the  golden  plover. 

"  To-day  goes  by  and  to-morrow  comes, 
And  it  leaves  me  as  it  found  me  ; 
I  am  safe  from  all  destroying  hands, 
With  the  arms  of  nature  round  me. 


•'  I  care  as  little  for  time  or  tide 
As  the  fickle  wind  that  pa.sses, 
My  world  is  here  with  the  sun  and  dew. 
Along  with  the  leaves  and  grasses." 


SffaiallBKBBy.VMIt-W'JWWWW^^  "*""  '  H'""*'**'-*'**'  '    ' 


'        ..    V',-- 


KE 


-^"^ 


i  ■  ; 


&.^ 


xn 


.«! 


^~ 


xir;;.^ 


THE    LAST    BUFFALO 

Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe,  Pawnee  and  Sioux, 

Comanche  and  Kiowa,  Blackfoot  and  Crow — 
Their  tepees  were  scattered  wherever  grass  grew, 

Their  pony-tracks  showed  by  each  river's  smooth  flow. 
And  Nature  was  given  them— (lod  the  great  giver — 

Stream,  fort'st,  and  prairie  with  long,  rolling  mounds. 
And   there  they  went  forth  with  the  bow,  spear,  and 
quiver,  * 

And  led  the  rude  chase  on  those  vast  hunting  grounds. 

From  dusk  Mississippi  to  where  stood  the  base 

Of  the  frowning  Sierras  o'ertopping  the  clouds, 
Upon  whose  lone  steeps  the  wild  sheep  found  a  place 

Where  mist  wreathed  the  summits    in   dim,   floating 
shrouds ; 
Here  lay  their  domain,  no  environment  bound  them. 

Barbaric  and  cunning,  and  free  as  the  birds, 
And  there  on  the  prairies,  beyond  and  around  them, 

The  bufl"aloes  wandered  in  numberless  herds. 


98 


THE    LAST  lU-hhWI.O 


Strange  cattle  who  fed  on  a  thousand  green  hills, 

Cow,  calf,  and  huge  bulls  with  their  thick,  streaming 
manes. 
They  cro|)ped  the  rich  grass  and  drank  deep  of  the  rills 

In  the  tortuous  streams  intersecting  the  plains  ; 
And  rnmblingly  there,  from  the  hollow  ground  under, 

When  the  mighty  mass  moved,  a  low  echo  l)egan 
That  wavered  and  gathered  and  swelled  into  thunder, 

While  trembled  the  earth  where  the  buffaloes  ran. 

And  there  on  their  trail  the  coyote  was  seen, 

And  the  greater  gray  wolf  with  his  glittering  teeth. 
That  flashed  from  their  ambush — ^jaws  narrow  and  lean — 

As  the  blade  of  a  bowie-knife  gleanxs  from  a  sheath, 
And  low  in  the  grass  the  coiled  rattlesnake  lying, 

His  challenge  shrilled  out  as  they  swiftly  went  by. 
While  mute  on  the  edges  grim  ravens  were  flying, 

And  buzzards  hung  over  them  poised  in  the  sky. 

And  from  their  quaint  villages  prairie-dogs  gazed, 
As  the  endless  processions  went  galloping  past. 

And  over  the  prairie  their  pathway  was  blazed 

As  the  beaten-down  woods  mark  the  hurricane's  blast ; 

For  near  and  afar  the  wild  flowers  and  grasses, 
Harsh  iron-weed  tall  and  the  red  roses  sweet. 


«^ 


THF.    r..iST  Hl'f-I'A/.O 


99 


Were  tangled  and  trampled  in  colorless  masses, 
And  ground  into  dust  by  the  buffaloes'  feet. 

Thus  roved  the  swart  bison  in  days  long  ago, 

And  there  the  red  Indian  dwelt  by  his  side, 
And  there,  by  the  warrior's  lance  and  the  lx)w. 

In  hundreds  and  thousands  the  buffaloes  died  ; 
And  still  through  the  march  of  the  seasons  unceasing 

They  drifted  and  mingled  and  multiplied  more, 
In  dense-thronging  bands  on  the  prairies  increasing. 

Like  the  green-bladed  grass  or  the  sands  by  the  shore. 

But  down  on  their  ranks  swept  the  white  man  at  last, 
>Vith  his  rifle  in  hand,  riding  westward  for  gold, 

WhiU'  hordes  of  hide-hunters  came  following  fast, 

Moi.'  fierce  than  the  wolves  that  had  trailed  them  of 

old, 

And  the  wide  Western  steppe  was  an  altar  of  slaughter, 
And  the  stain  of  those  days  with  dark  mammon  abides, 

When  the  rivers  ran  blood  and  when  blood  ran  like  water. 
For  a  million  of  buffaloes  slain  for  their  hides. 

And  there  in  the  sunshine  the  ravens  flew  down 
And  perched  and  sat  silent  on  ominous  bones. 

Grave  kings  of  destruction,  sans  sceptre  and  crown, 
Who  mockingly  ruled  from  their  ossified  thrones ; 


■utMjIMgllMlimaiWB^t""' 


MM 


100 


THE   LAST  IHII-Al.O 


For  out  through  the  distance,  far  sprcatling  and  reaching, 
As  white  as  the  wings  of  the  seafaring  gulls, 

'I'he  horns  and  the  heads  of  the  bison  lay  bleaching 
And  made  of  the  land  a  ( iolgotha  of  skulls. 


The  tepees  have  vanished,  the  savage  moves  on  ; 

From  the  graves  of  his  chiefs  to  the  slow  sinking  sun, 
The  realm  that  he  owned  to  the  stranger  has  gone. 

And  the  day  of  his  race,  like  a  story,  is  done  ; 
And  safe  from  the  clutches  of  sordid-souled  schemer, 

F'ar  hid  in  some  nook  of  the  mountainous  lands. 
Black-browed  and  defiant,  and  sad  xs  a  dreamer, 

Alone  in  his  might  the  last  buffalo  stands. 


Iiing, 


iin, 


WINTER 

Fencks  half  buried  in  the  drifting  snow, 

And  trees  l)eside  them,  ghostly-Hnil)ed  and  drear, 

Where  waihng  breezes  wander  to  and  fro 

Across  the  gray  and  icy  atmosphere ; 

No  sound  to  comfort  and  no  \\o\)e  to  cheer 

Where  skies  so  blank  monotonously  stare, 

^^■hile  Ceres  waits,  all  dreamy  with  despair. 

And  mourns  the  saddest  season  of  the  year. 

Leaf,  bud,  and  blossom — flowers — ay,  and  song 
Of  warbling  birds,  all  gladsome  things  like  these 
In  other  lands  and  other  climes  Ixilong ; 
Sun-flooded  sands  that  wait  by  summer  seas, 
Cireen-bladed  grass,  and  leaves  upon  the  trees — 
Yet  all  this  will  be  here,  but  in  a  breath  ; 
For  this  is  sleej) — that  foolish  ones  call  death — 
Till  Nature  rises  from  her  bended  knees. 


. 


mmmmmmimm. 


HUN'PKRS 


A  cRicKF.r  fed  on  an  insect 

Too  small  for  eye  to  see, 
A  fiekl-moiise  captiireil  the  cricket 

And  hushed  his  minstrelsy. 

A  gray  shrike  jionnced  on  the  field-mouse 

And  hiuig  him  on  a  thorn, 
And  a  ha   k  came  down  on  the  cruel  shrike 

From  over  the  waving  corn. 

And  a  fox  sprang  out  on  the  red -tailed  hawk 

From  under  a  fallen  tree, 
For  bird  and  U:xst,  by  flood  and  field, 

Of  every  degree. 

Prey  one  upon  the  other  ; 

'Twas  thus  ordained  to  be. 
My  rifle  laid  old  Reynard  low. 

And  death — death  looked  at  me. 


^«|»IWMa^MMHilUKWM 


,j&m 


h^  'w 


\l,t«.Uli'^^ 


I 


g:^ge;aft'^»iiwi..ii>!.;i 


THE    ROD 

A  ROD  for  bass  and  wall-eyed  pike 
When  over  sandy  shoals  they  throng, 

Adapted  both  to  "  cast"  or  "strike," 
Of  split  bamtoo  and  lithe  and  long, 

With  pliant  tip  that  wavers  like 

Some  shivering  aspen  slim  and  strong. 

And  at  the  butt  the  clicking  reel 
With  braided  silken  line  is  wound, 

A  miniature  of  fortune's  wheel 

When  a  good  fish  the  lure  has  found, 

And  in  your  nervous  grip  you  feel 
Its  shining  circle  whirl  around. 

A  good  plain  rod  by  all  that's  fair. 
And  whijK  the  water  like  a  thong. 

In  Northern  lakes  all  lonely  where 
The  muskalunge  and  bass  Ijelong ; 

Supple  and  straight  beyond  compare. 
And  worthy  of  a  better  song. 


u 


A    "RISE" 

Under  the  shadows  of  a  cUff 
Crowned  with  a  growth  of  stately  pine 
An  angler  moors  his  rocking  skiff 
And  o'er  the  ripple  casts  his  line, 
And  where  the  darkling  current  crawls 
Like  thistle-down  the  gay  lure  falls. 

Then  from  the  depths  a  silver  gleam 
Quick  flashes,  like  a  jewel  bright, 
Up  through  the  waters  of  the  stream 
An  instant  visible  to  sight — 
As  lightning  cleaves  the  sombre  sky 
The  black  bass  rises  to  the  fly. 


'v 


III  I  rnUifiiwi  iiiiiiiiiii 


Miiiiiiiii 


OUT-DOORS 

A  WOOD-CHUCK  sat  on  an  orchard  knoll, 
Brown  and  still  in  the  soft  spring  morning, 
A  martin  sprang  from  a  sand-bank  hole 
And  a  rain-crow  uttered  his  note  of  warning  ; 
While  down  by  the  creek  the  rushes  swayed 
And  a  nameless  pungent  music  made, 
That  came  and  went  at  its  own  rude  pleasure, 
The  faint-heard  notes  of  a  marshy  measure. 

A  robin  pilled  with  a  note  as  sweet 

As  a  flute-note  played  in  a  mellow  minor, 

And  the  leaf-harps,  swept  by  the  breezes  fleet, 

In  whispering  tones  came  fine  and  finer. 

While  close  by  the  side  of  a  bulrush  bed 

A  snapping-turtle  raised  his  head, 

And  a  swallow  dipped  to  the  creek  in  passing, 

His  shadow  there  for  an  instant  glassing. 

A  pickerel  lay  by  an  old  log  bridge. 

Where  the  moss  grew  low  on  the  midmost  panel, 


io8 


OUT-DOORS 


He  cocked  his  eye  at  a  passing  midge 

And  waved  his  fins  as  he  watched  the  channel, 

While  a  gathering  murmur  slowly  welled 

And  into  a  sibilant  chorus  swelled, 

And  a  tall  blue  crane  in  silence  listened 

Where  the  long  creek-shallows  glanced  and  glistened. 

A  bobolink  rose  in  the  sun-thrilled  air, 

A  spirit  of  song,  with  the  blue  sky  o'er  him, 

And  his  trembling  wings  from  the  meadow  there, 

As  he  sang  and  sang,  still  upward  bore  him. 

While  high  where  a  banner  of  cloud-film  trailed 

A  hawk,  a  speck  in  the  zenith,  sailed. 

And  dew  on  the  coarse  swamp-grass  was  clinging. 

With  Pan's  wild  chords  in  the  distance  ringing. 


-■.'iB^m'X^^^i^f^fi^if^iiMS^vimm^mmsmu 


■■4 


sned. 


r 


SPEARING 

WHkRE  a  long,  narrow  channel  stretched, 

Mid  lily-pads  and  bulrush  l)eds, 

And  water-spiders  slid  across, 

Like  acrobats,  on  tense-drawn  threads, 

A  pickerel,  like  a  floating  log. 

Lay  motionless  within  the  bog.  - 

And  slowly  up  the  channel's  tide 

A  skiff  came  creeping,  foot  by  foot, 

While  light  as  diis  a  swallow  down 

The  oarsman  in  the  ripples  put 

His  short,  broad  blade,  and  bubbles  dripped 

And  smoothly  from  its  edges  slipi)ed. 

And  virile  in  his  vigorous  pose 
The  spearsman  in  the  vanguard  stood, 
And  poised  within  his  raised  right  hand 
The  heavy  shaft  of  pitch-pine  wood, 
Whose  iron  trident  glittered  bare 
And  coldly  in  the  warm  June  air. 


J 


tt»*»*t 


113 


SPEAR/XC 

Smooth,  soft  and  smooth,  and  noiselessly, 
The  skiff  approached  the  bulrush  bed, 
And  suddenly  across  the  stream 
The  frightened  fish  like  lightning  si)ed  ; 
But  ere  he  reached  the  reeds  he  sought, 
In  that  one  instant,  danger-fraught, 

Tiio  siH-'arsman's  arm  had  straightened  out, 
The  heavy  shaft  like  javelin  flew, 
It  clashed  against  the  ripples  there 
And  lent  the  wave  a  ruddier  hue, 
And  on  the  barb's  dull  iron  gray, 
Transfixed,  the  struggling  pickerel  lay. 


imi 


MARSH    KCHOr.S 

Whkn  twilight  oi.  the  f.mtei  Wis 

And  threads  the  ...on  ^bo.Hhni,:U'..  dark  halls, 

When  dims  the  far  h-vii-on  lir  <; 
And  glow-woans  ,.hos,.hwrert.Tf.  -hine.  ^ 
'Hien  comes  in  >  ;.T:ptst  ba-is  .  !  .il, 
Likebello'viiu.  ofp  rovu.}(K'Vi. 

. -  Ah -1  r  ooomp  •  Ah  ri-oo.Jtnp ^ 
iU-aa-rro' laji  i  " 


O'erhead  the  f' ^^b'  .•.i'/'^t-l.awk  fliti, 

And  in  the  woods  in  silenc  e  sUs 

The  whippoorvl.  while  round  the  bke 

Soft  on  the  shores  the  i'-..  le:  ■>^'^^^' 
And  sound  there  in  non.  J-a-. ^  ihat  .all, 
Reverberating  over  all, 

'♦  Ah-rr-ooomp  !  Ah  rr-ooo.'ii. ) 
Ba-i-vvioompl" 


vfA 


The  tinklwgc:'.>slv 'bin  the  hush 
are  .^■;ard,  ui.cl  in  tne  'ush 


No  more 
8 


I 


"4  MARSH  ECHOES 

And  coarse  swamp-grass  the  bull-frogs  lie, 
While  echoes  far  their  guttural  cry  ; 
Across  the  lily-pads  and  cane 
A  solemn  and  a  hoarse  refrain, 

"  Ah-rr-ooomp  !  Ah-ir-ooomp  1 
Ba-aa-rroonip  !  " 

And  Pan,  among  the  sighing  reeds, 
When  night  has  told  her  starry  beads 
One  after  one,  stands  silent  there. 
While  float  upon  the  darkening  air 
Those  unmelodious,  mournful  notes 
Sent  upward  from  Batracean  throats, 
' '  Ah-i  r-ooomp  !  Ah-rr-ooomp  I 
Ba-aa-rroomp !  " 


e, 


-,-=( 


.v'i 


»»!WS«B«<'S»'*'^'' 


•%r 


FISHING 

With  hickory  switch  and  linen  twine 

He  sits  upon  tlie  country  bridge  ; 
Below  him,  where  the  sun's  rays  shine, 

Across  the  water  glides  a  midge  ; 
The  cat-tails  to  the  ripples  tip 

And  craw-fish  mould  their  cells  of  clay, 
And  wandering  swallows  downward  dip 

An  instant  there  and  then  away. 


Beside  him  is  the  homely  can 

That  holds  the  bait,  and  by  his  side 
His  yellow  dog,  a  rataplan, 

Beats  on  the  oaken  timbers  wide  ; 
Slow  swims  the  cork  and  then  it  drifts. 

And  bote  and  sinks  and  wavers  there, 
While  bends  the  switch  as  quick  he  lifts 

A  wriggling  sun-fish  through  the  air. 


! 


The  meadows  ring  with  melody 

From  rapturous  fluttering  bobolinks. 


ass5^a5»!!S4V^s;sfflp*P5 


^.,„..i...n.'..i'i. .»,',-,        ,JiJ.«..4i,..„,Jj.Vji'«>..-- 


-!lwiLl,.^.„Vi,-At'!'- 


P,ti,L    If  l'v'!l'-".'IJ 


Ii8 


FISIIIXG 

And  on  a  blackened  fallen  tree 

Is  stretched,  as  solemn  as  the  sphinx, 

An  old  mud-turtle's  awkward  form, 
And  dragon-flies  above  him  skim, 

Out,  where  the  sunlight  dances  warm, 
And  in  where  shadows  hover  dim. 


t"- 


I  grant  you  all  you  else  may  claim 

When  manhood  seeks  its  fullest  due, 
I  grant  you  honor,  place,  and  fame, 

I  grant  that  she  you  loved  was  true ; 
I  grant  you  gray  in  years,  and  rich, 

So  that  you  but  could  give  me  then 
The  brook,  the  fish,  the  hickory  switch, 

And  time  to  be  a  boy  again. 


i>,^i&~ 


THS   BROOK   TROUT 

How  swift  and  strong  its  waters  glide — 
Tile  l)rool< — a  clear,  resistless  tide, 
And  slowly  down  the  mountain  side 

'I'he  angler  goes. 
The  soft  air  drifts  through  solemn  pines 
And  dreamily  the  simlight  shines, 
As  past  the  alders,  rocks,  and  vines 

The  current  flows, 


Above  the  depths  that  now  conceal 
What  temjjting  lures  may  yet  reveal, 
An  instant  whirls  the  nimble  reel. 

Then  drops  the  fly. 
And  by  the  glancing  ripples  caught, 
A  moment  there  the  line  is  taut,    . 
And  then,  as  suddenly  as  thought, 

does  whirling  by. 

And  where  the  swift  brook  turning  trends, 
Just  as  the  broadening  ripple  ends, 


ar'"^ 


isr 


1 20 


THE  liROOK  TROl'T 

There  comes  a  tug,  a  thrill  that  sends 

Along  the  rod, 
A  message  from  the  slender  tip 
From  whence  the  litiuid  diamonds  drip, 
That  violently  makes  it  dip 

And  downwaid  nod. 

And  then  it  bends  from  tip  to  butt, 
While  through  the  pool  the  ripples  cut, 
And  close  and  closer  yet  is  shut. 

Then  upward  Hies, 
As  drawn  from  out  his  pebbly  hold, 
Brightly  against  the  forest  mould, 
Vermilion,  silver,  black,  and  gold, 

The  brook  trout  lies. 


j^j^^^j^ojmmmimitsisi^su^ 


liitmr  Mw'^tw 


•p. 


lit, 


S  <i| 


'f  k- 


"HROKK    A WAV" 

Out  flew  the  line  ;  the  Inirnishcd  reel 

(lieamed  Ijrightly  in  the  waning  sun, 
The  waves  lapped  lightly  'gainst  our  keel, 

The  day  was  wellnigh  done  ; 
Faint  outlined  on  the  southern  sky, 

A  yellow  sickle  lay  the  moon, 
And  eerily  arose  the  cry, 

Far  shoreward,  ot  a  loon. 

Then  bent  the  rod  ;  the  slender  tip. 

With  one  cpiick  curve  the  silence  cut, 
Shar|)  as  the  motion  of  a  whip, 

Until  it  neared  the  butt ; 
Full  well  was  strained  the  silken  braid    , 

Hy  swift  retreat  and  sudden  tack, 
At  last  one  furious  lunge  was  made 

And  then  the  line  lay  slack.  t 


Then  all  at  once  the  slackened  line 

Stretched  outward  through  the  waters  deej), 


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124 


"  BKOKE   All'AY" 

We  saw  a  flash  of  silver  shine, 
We  saw  a  black  bass  leai) ; 

By  Hercules  !  a  gallant  fish- 
One  spring,  and  like  dissolving  spray, 

The  line  and,  leader  parted—"  swish  "- 
Click— "broke  away."       ., 


^  wi  ,*H^W:^«***^ 


DIANA 

BARELEnofcD  to  her  shapely  knee, 

She  waded  in  the  mountain  brook; 
To  her  an  infant's  A  B  C 

Was  every  leaf  in  Nature's  book  ; 
And  in  her  brown  and  lithe  left  hand 

An  Indian  bow  she  lightly  held, 
While  up  from  'neath  her  tangled  hair 

Her  eyes  like  clear  spring  water  welled. 

Over  her  shoulder  round  was  flung 

A  quiver  of  long  arrows  keen. 
And  there  she  trod  the  rocks  among, 

A  wild  and  graceful  forest  queen  ; 
And  often  on  the  ripples  came, 

A  sight  she  marked  with  eager  eyes, 
Sharp  rushes,  marked  by  bubble-rings,     . 

Where  the  trout  rose  to  snap  at  flies. 

And  whiles  she  set  a  feathered  shaft 
Close  to  her  cheek  and  drew  the  bow— 


in  ili'lri  ifii"'~'"*'" -" """ 


126 


DIANA 

Well  skilled  was  she  in  forest-craft— 
And  smiled  to  see  her  arrow  go, 

As  flashed  its  point  against  the  stream 
Like  lightning,  where  the  ripples  shook, 

Transfixing  in  his  downward  rush 

The  finned  chameleon  of  the  brook. 


MINNOWS 


The  minnows  through  the  water  slid, 
Pelhicid  shadows,  vague  as  dreams  ; 
And  darting  o'er  the  pebbles  hid 
Safe  in  the  shore-line's  yawning  seams. 

An  instant  there,  as  morning  beams 
Flashed  from  Old  Sol's  half-opened  lid, 
The  minnows  through  the  water  slid, 
Pellucid  shadows,  vague  as  dreams. 

Round  a  huge  bowlder  of  the  streams, 
A  gray,  half-sunken  pyramid, 
Like  sudden  flight  of  pallid  gleams 
The  brook's  transparent  depths  amid, 
The  minnows  through  the  water  slid, 
Pellucid  shadows,  va'^ue  as  dreams. 


THE    DKSER'i'ED    BOAT 

Deep  in  the  soft  black  ooze  it  lies 
Slow  rotting  under  summer  skies, 
And  over  it  the  blackbird  flies. 


The  sand-snipe  skim  across  the  spac>» 
Where  the  old  boat  finds  resting  place 
Close  folded  in  the  weeds'  embrace. 

Sun,  sun  and  shadow,  wind  and  rain 
Come  following  in  '^e  season's  train 
And  mark  its  form  with  many  a  stain. 

Along  its  lines  the  ripple  sleeps. 
Upon  its  bow  the  turtle  creeps. 
And  by  its  side  the  pickerel  leaps. 

And  one  lone  lily,  white  and  gold. 
That  seems  a  touch  of  hope  to  hold, 
Gleams  bright  against  its  blackening  mould. 


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THE    RKOWIN'G 

On  a  bulrush  stalk  a  l)lackl)ircl  swung 

All  in  the  sun  and  the  simshine  weather, 

Teetered  and  scolded  there  as  he  hung 

O'er  the  maze  of  the  swamp-woofs  tangled  tether  ; 

And  the  spots  on  his  wings  were  red  as  fire, 

And  his  notes  rang  sweet  as  Apollo's  lyre. 


The  summer  woods  were  a  haze  of  blue. 
Draped  and  rolled  with  an  emerald  kirtle, 
And  the  blackbird  whistled  clear  and  true 
Till  the  thrush  was  mute  in  the  flowered  ni)rtle ; 
And  the  spots  on  his  wings  were  red  as  fire. 
And  his  notes  rang  sweet  as  Apollo's  lyre. 


<  i 


A  black  bass  leaped  for  a  dragon-fly 

And  struck  the  spray  from  the  sleei)ing  water. 

While  airily,  eerily,  there  on  high 

Sang  the  blackbird  pert  from  his  "  teeter-totter  ; 

And  the  spots  on  his  wings  were  red  as  fire, 

And  his  notes  rang  sweet  as  Apollo's  lyre. 


isnwm,ijB»iiit"ginw;».itmim*.ui»ii 


132  THE  i^iivifjxa 

A  fig  for  the  music  born  of  man, 
I  shake  my  head  and  I  doubt  me  whether 
Your  cultured  strain  has  a  charm  for  Fan 
When  a  blaclcbird  sings  in  the  simshine  weather. 
With  the  spots  on  his  wings  as  red  as  fire, 
And  his  notes  as  sweet  as  Apollo's  lyre. 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0    ^> 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


s/ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


■  ai^^.sgiiBiWiwagaBEaspassi: 


t/j 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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A   "STRIKE 


A  RIVER  winding  through  the  marsh 
Where  rushes  waver  crisp  and  harsh, 
And  slowly  by  the  farther  shore,  _^ 

With  softest  sweep  of  dripping  oar, 
A  boat  goes  past  along  the  edge, 
By  lily-pads  and  matted  sedge. 

And  in  the  stern  a  figure  stands 

With  fishing-rod  in  outstretched  hands. 

And  where  the  line  is  outward  cast, 

Near  to  the  rushes  drifting  past. 

All  brightly  'neath  the  morning  lx;anis 

The  trailing  spoon-hook  swerves  and  gleams. 

Then  suddenly  the  lithe  rod  bends. 
And  swift  the  tense,  taut  line  extends. 
As  all  at  once  from  watery  lair 
A  watchful  pickerel  lurking  there 
Drops  like  a  panther  on  the  prey, 
Strikes,  feels  the  hook,  and  darts  away. 


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THE    DEATH    OF    THE    MUSKALUNGE 

PiNE-SHFXTERED  shorcs  that  stretch  'neath  northern  skies, 
And  vinder  them  a  dreaming  forest  lies  ; 
Dim  shadow-trpes,  whose  moveless  branches  stand 
Like  castle-turrets  in  a  sunken  land. 

And  gliding  o'er  the  lake's  smooth-mirrored  blue, 
All  noiseless,  comes  a  long  birch-bark  canoe. 
And  in  its  bow  a  sun-bronzed  fisher  kneels, 
While  from  his  rod,  with  outward  motion,  wheels 

Swift  in  the  air  the  glimmer  of  a  "spoon," 

Curving  a  crescent  like  the  jjale  new  moon  ;  ^ 

It  strikes  the  surface  with  a  liquid  sound 

And  through  the  water,  shining,  whirls  around. 


THE   DEATH   OF   THE    M  iSKA  EUXGE         I  37 

Then  all  at  once  a  mighty  fish  uiisprings. 
The  rod  l)ends  double  and  the  liright  reel  sings, 
As  from  the  depths  a  giant  muskalunge 
Vaults  and  evanishes  with  sidlen  plunge. 

And  once  again  from  out  the  emerald  deeps, 
Shaking  his  jaws,  the  great  fish  upward  leaps; 
Then  'mid  the  rijiples  furiously  he  goes, 
While  after  him  the  light  canoe  he  tows. 

Another  bound,  and  like  a  sounding  flail 
He  slajjs  the  water  with  his  lusty  tail, 
And  as  he  stretches  at  the  silken  reins 
The  tough  rod  quivers  and  the  tackle  strains. 

An  hour's  pa.ssed  since  first  he  took  the  "spoon," 
And  wanes  the  day  to  deepest  afternoon  ; 
Long,  dusky  curves  bask  silent  on  the  sands, 
Darker  Ijelow  the  buried  forest  stands. 

Up  from  the  shades  he  struggles  once  again, 
A  desperate  rush — a  feebler  one — and  then. 
Conquered  at  last,  he  rises  from  the  shoals 
And,  half  inert,  upon  the  water  rolls — 

Yields  to  the  gaff,  and  soon  the  noble  prize 
Before  the  victor  unresisting  lies  ; 


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■ni<w''.-'"r"r/ '  ■"■-'  .'?,"fe.?V'  '■'-' 


138        THE  DEATH  OF  THE  MrSKAI.l'XGE 

The  contest  over  and  his  strong  race  run, 
A  battle  royal  by  the  sportsman  won. 

Westward  the  sun  with  flaming  distaff  twines 
A  blood-red  garland  round  the  tufted  pines, 
And  day,  slow  sinking  in  the  ruddy  light. 
Sees  gray  stars  blossom  by  the  paths  of  night. 


I" 


L. 


VALE 

He  was  an  old-time  friend  of  mine — and  one  to  trust  ; 
We  followed  the  streams  as  comrades,  with  rod  and 

gun, 
And  together  we  roamed  the  hills  in  rain  or  sun  ; 
But  now  he  is  gone,  and  all  that  is  left  is  a  handful  of 
dust. 

The  out-door  man,  after  all,  is  the  one  with  heart. 
For  it  cramiK  the  body  and  soul  to  live  in-doors  ; 
In  out-door-land  the  spirit  high  as  an  eagle  soars, 

And  his  was  an  eagle  spirit,  though  now  it  soars  apart. 

Music  he  heard  in  the  winds  and  the  running  streams, 
In  the  rifle's  sharp  report  and  the  thunder's  peal ; 
In  the  thrush's  song,  in  the  clicic  of  a  winding  reel : 

But  now  he  is  silent  in  death,  that  last  great  dream  of 
dreams. 

Friend  and  comrade  of  mine  by  wood  and  marshy  shore. 
Thine  absent  self  on  me  a  subtle  power  wields  ; 


F 


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'I'hoii  art  with  me  still  by  thf  rivers,  lakes,  and  fields. 
Though  the  lakes  and  rivers  and  fields  henceforth  know 
thee  no  more. 

Thou  art  alwve  me  now — l)eyond  the  azure  dome, 
Of  the  far  blue  heavens  whose  void  will  ever  Ix; 
Between  our  paths  as  a  soundless,  shoreless  sea, 

Till  a  cry  from  the  dusk  shall  stay  my  steps  and  call  me 
home. 


7 


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